NYMTA marks ridership milestones

The New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) has reported record ridership numbers on the Long Island Rail Road (LIRR), Metro-North Railroad and the newly added Second Avenue Subway.

Firms qualified to bid on LIRR third track

The Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) and New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT) on Feb. 2 announced the list of construction firms deemed qualified to bid on the LIRR Expansion Project.

60 more M-8s for ConnDot/Metro-North

One of the busiest commuter rail lines in the U.S. is accelerating a buy of 60 new railcars.

Masabi launches mobile ticketing with New York’s MTA

Masabi announced on July 6th that its mobile ticketing technology is now live with New York’s MTA. Using Masabi’s JustRide mobile ticketing platform, riders on Metro North Railroad and Long Island Rail Road will be able to purchase tickets and travel using their smartphones as an all-in-one ticket vending machine and ticket.

Metro-North’s GP35R locomotive overhaul project moves along

As the first GP35R locomotive overhaul completed by Brookville Equipment Corp. entered service on Oct. 24, 2015 for Metro-North Commuter Railroad (MNR), the second unit (No. 107) began its journey back to New York, departing Brookville’s Pennsylvania-based facility on October 23, marking two major milestones in the seven-unit rebuild project.

FRA to Congress: Most railroads will miss PTC deadline

The Federal Railroad Administration sent its Status of Positive Train Control Implementation report to Congress showing that after seven years and significant assistance from FRA, most railroads will miss the December 31, 2015 positive train control (PTC) implementation deadline that Congress established in 2008. The report, which was mandated by the House of Representatives Appropriations Committee, was sent to Congress on August 7.

New York MTA touts compliance with FRA safety advisory

As a result of work completed in March 2014 in response to the Federal Railroad Administration’s Emergency Order 29, the Long Island Rail Road and Metro-North say they are in compliance with the recommendations made recently to all U.S. passenger railroads in FRA Safety Advisory 2015-03.

Six dead in Metro-North grade crossing collision: Update

Six people are dead following a horrific grade crossing collision involving a packed Metro-North train and a Mercedes Benz SUV just north of the Valhalla, N.Y., train station on the Harlem Line, on the evening of Feb. 3, 2015. There were also numerous injuries, 10 of them serious.
Commentary

NTSB, Metro-North, and politicians, Part 3

Let’s continue with my comments from Part 1 and Part 2 on the Oct. 28, 2014 National Transportation Safety Board press conference regarding NTSB’s determination of the causes of five accidents on Metro-North Railway (MNR). To reiterate, I’m going through the video second by second just so I can set the record straight, or at least correct some of the more egregious errors presented as facts by NSTB Acting Chairman Christopher A. Hart, and Senators Schumer, Blumenthal, and Murphy.
Commentary

Why NTSB got it wrong

I forced myself to review every miserable second of the Oct. 28, 2014 NTSB press conference regarding NTSB’s determination of the causes of five accidents on Metro-North Railway (MNR), for a couple of reasons: 1) I couldn’t believe what was being said; and  2) I couldn’t believe what was being said. I mean, come on: FRA as a “lawless, rogue agency”?
LOAD MORE